When the Ball Drops
by gerbilHunter
Summary: An annoyed Kim confronts a bemused Shego while trying to save New Year's Eve for New York City. For whitem's annual story contest. Light romance. PG-13. Kigo.


My entry in whitem's 8th Annual SnowDaze story contest. Me being a Kigo shipper, that's the flavor here.

This story has no redeeming social value, teaches no lessons, and has no moral. Rated T for safety; it would be PG-13 were it a movie (well, depending on camera angles).

I have shamelessly stolen an idea from Sobriety, from his story "Best Sidekick Possible." I don't own the Times Square New Year's Glitter Ball, and I don't own Kim Possible, Shego, or any other part of the Kimmiverse (Disney owns most of that; the various fanfic authors and illustrators own their contributions). I do own the words you are (I hope) about to read and (I hope) enjoy.

* * *

Kim Possible was annoyed, moving quickly towards actively pissed off. Early afternoon on New Year's Eve was not a time to be crawling through air vents in central Pennsylvania. But Frugal Lucre had stolen the Times Square mirror ball, still disassembled, and was holding it for ransom. The New York City police had called in Team Possible, and here she was. Ron Stoppable was a few feet behind her, moving with somewhat less than the total silence with which she progressed. The temperature outside was about twenty degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature in the duct wasn't much more. She, on the other hand, was closing in on steaming.

The duct was suspended from the ceiling of what had been a large machine shop. Two floors of offices were on one wall; the rest of the interior was a double-height work area. A couple of milling machines were still on the floor twenty feet below, though most had been sold years past, when the shop had been shuttered. The duct had carried chilled air to cool the shop, and every so often there was a grate on the bottom through which the hero and her sidekick could see the room. Beneath them, four men in work clothes were jockeying a pair of huge crates onto dollies. A flat-bed truck idled outside the roller door. Kim examined the action, and the section of floor she could see. Cutting through the duct would take time, and the flashing of the laser lipstick would attract attention. Instead, the pair continued on, to the end of the duct in an office overlooking the shop floor. A few flicks of the laser eliminated the brackets holding the vent cover onto the duct, and the hero and her sidekick were soon in the office.

From there, rescuing the ball was simple. The upper offices opened onto a catwalk, and the teens rushed down the stairs, Kim skipping noiselessy down the steel steps and Ron clattering clumsily behind her. The four workmens' heads turned as the redhead struck her pose, looking forward to working through her annoyance with a little combat therapy. "You're going to be spending New Year's in jail!"

"What the hell you talking about, girlie?"

"Ron, check for their leader. I'll take these goons." The blond headed for the cab of the truck, and Kim ran towards the foursome.

"What goons?" Three of the men backed away, and the fourth stepped forward. "We're just loading a coupla crates, f'cripes sake!"

Kim halted, confused. She spun at a sound from the catwalk, to see a familiar and much-unloved figure looking down from the railing. "Shego!" The villainess turned quickly and disappeared into an office.

Ignoring the workmen, Kim called to Ron. "Call Wade and have him send the police and the helicopters!" She threw him her Kimmunicator so that he could make the calls. "Stay with the ball. I'm going after Shego." She dashed up the stairs, leaving a concerned sidekick and four perplexed workmen behind her.

 _~o~o~o~_

Kim rushed to the office into which Shego had disappeared. Frigid air blew in through the open window. Putting her head out, Kim saw her nemesis running across the parking lot. She scrambled through the window, let herself hang from the sill, and dropped the last six feet. She landed, rolled, and took off after the older woman.

Shego led the hero across the parking lot and into the forest on the far side. Tree branches still held snow from a recent fall, and the ground was covered with leaves and sticks. The skies were heavy and grey. Kim's breath huffed out of her in clouds as she sped after the villain.

Kim lost sight of her quarry as the latter crested a low hill and disappeared over the far side. On the other side was a smooth stretch of snow, several inches deep. Tracks made a straight line across it, and fifty feet away, the green-clad woman was pulling a camouflage tarp off a hoverpod. The redhead charged for her, putting on a final burst of speed. She skidded and nearly went down; the flat surface on which she ran was the ice covering a small pond.

The villain saw Kim approaching. She leapt onto the hoverpod and power flared on her hands. A pair of fireballs came at the hero, striking the snow ten feet and five feet in front of her. The snow melted to water, and the now wet ice gave no traction at all. Kim went down, and the weakened ice gave way. The hero wound up waist-deep in frigid water, her jacket also soaked through.

Shego meanwhile had started up the hoverpod. She swooped over the pond, twenty feet above Kim, tilting to take a look, and the redhead took the opportunity to fire her grappling gun at the pod. The pod slipped to the side, but not quickly enough. The grapple stuck the underside of the pod, and at this close range had enough energy to penetrate the thin covering on the lightweight craft. Kim hit the retract button and was pulled out of the water. The pod shuddered, lost altitude, and recovered. As Kim clambered over the side, the hoverpod began to regain altitude. Shego turned from the controls and snarled.

"What the hell are you doing, Kimmie?"

"What am I doing? What are _you_ doing, working with Lucre? And the Times Square Ball? That's low, even for you!"

"Nice to know you think I've got standards, even if they are low." The thief smirked. "And I'm not working for Lucre. I was hired to recover the ball."

Kim stared at her. The two were only a yard apart in the tight confines of the pod cockpit, but Shego did not seem to be preparing to attack. "Right. Sure you were."

Shego stared back. "Yeah. I was. By Señor Senior Senior. Apparently, Junior is going to be at Times Square, and Senior didn't want the evening ruined."

"How did you find it?"

"Oh, come on. It's Lucre. I found the cheapest rigging company in New York, and asked them where they took two big crates yesterday. How did you find it?"

Kim looked abashed. "Uhh, Wade hacked all the recorded satellite feeds for the last thirty-six hours. He tracked all the heat signatures for large vehicles from around the time the ball disappeared. The police checked all the ones that started at the warehouse and ended in town. This was the last one. So we came to check it out. The NYPD and a couple of big helicopters were waiting for our call, and they'll get it back to Times Square."

"Typical government overkill. I just hired the same four guys who brought it here to drive it back. It's a couple hundred miles. Plenty of time."

"So if you were just there to get the ball back, why run?"

Shego's surprise showed on her face. "Hello? Wanted felon? I didn't want to spend New Years in prison." She grimaced. "And you're going to spend it in the hospital, if you don't get warm. What were you thinking, following me across that pond?"

"I didn't know it was a pond!" the hero retorted.

That earned her a snort. "Nonsense, Kimmie. Flat snow in a clearing in the woods? And even if it wasn't a pond, it left you with no cover at all. You're not that stupid."

"You ran across it!"

"Again, wanted felon. I was trying to get away without hurting anybody. And nobody was going to throw plasma balls at me while I was in the open."

"Without hurting anybody? Then why the plasma?"

The thief sighed heavily. "I melted the snow in front of you, so you'd fall. I didn't hurt you. And speaking of all that, I should put you down so you can call your boyfriend to come get you."

It was Kim's turn to grimace. "I left the Kimmunicator with Ron. I can't call. Can you call for me?"

"No Kimmie, I can't," came the sardonic reply. "I am not giving my location to your Nerdlinger. Global Justice will give up a holiday to catch my fine young ass." She turned back to the controls. "Your hook damaged my pod. We're going to be going slow for a while. I hope the cloaking works. Sit down, I'm going to close the canopy."

Kim took the second seat in the two-person cockpit. "I don't suppose you can drop me with the police, either?"

"I bet the police are on the road with the ball, Princess. Why would they wait around for you? You can take care of yourself. And I'm not going into some town to drop you, especially with the pod damaged." She paused. "What about the buffoon? Who's taking care of him?"

"I told him to stay with the ball. He'll be with the police." Kim suddenly shivered, holding herself tightly.

Shego set the controls. "You destroyed the main power converter, Kimmie. With keeping us off the ground, and the cloaking, I only have enough power to go about thirty miles an hour. It will take a while to get anywhere." She gestured. "Stand up. Take off that coat. It's soaked." Kim hesitated. "Come on, Princess. I'm not going to hurt you. I might be willing to beat the crap out of you, but I'm not willing to let you freeze to death. It's dishonorable."

Kim slowly took off the jacket. Shego sat in the second seat and opened her own light coat. She motioned for Kim to sit on her lap. "Sit here, Kim. I'll warm you up. From the look of you, you need it." She stared at the girl's chest, and the redhead blushed as she realized that the bumps of her nipples showed clearly through her light brassiere and soaked cotton top. "Hey, c'mon. You're freezing, and I'm the only warm in town."

Kim gingerly lowered herself toward the older woman, who held up a hand. "Jeans off first, Cupcake! Off with the shoes and wet denim."

Kim turned bright red. "I don't think-"

"It's okay, Kimmie. I was on my middle school swim team. I've seen lots of girls take their clothes off. You're a cheerleader. You shower with ten other naked girls all the time. Lucky girl." Kim started, and Shego grinned. "Kidding, Cupcake, kidding! Anyway, think of this like that. You got nothing I haven't seen before, and seen more of."

"In middle school?"

"Well, maybe not in middle school. Do you want to get warm, or not? We got two more hours in this cockpit, and the heater ain't all that good." She began to wriggle out of her own jacket.

Kim was acutely aware of how awkward she looked as she bent in the cramped space to take off her shoes. Working the sodden jeans down her legs was even worse. And that was without including her companion's appraising look as more and more cold-reddened skin came into view. Finally, she stood crouched under the low cockpit shroud, in soaked top and panties, kicking her shoes and pants behind the pilot seat. She expected some sort of cutting remark, but Shego just motioned her close and helped her settle onto her lap.

The thief covered the hero's legs with her jacket. "Cheese and crackers, you're freezing! The heater vent is under the dash; put your feet up there. And close your eyes."

"Why?"

"I'm going to light up my hands. The plasma only goes so low, and you don't want to be looking at it this close. You'll feel the warmth."

Kim shut her eyes. In seconds, she saw a green glow through her eyelids, and felt warmth radiating to her face and front. It lasted about ten seconds, then faded away. At the same time, she realized that her back wasn't quite so cold as it had been.

"Why did you stop, Shego?"

"Takes a lot out of me, Princess. I'll do it a couple more times, but a little rest between is good." Kim settled more comfortably against the more buxom woman, who continued, "Why did you run across that pond, Kim? You wouldn't, normally."

The young woman sighed. "I was upset, and angry. I mean, it's Christmas, and New Years, and here I am chasing some stupid tinsel ball instead of home. And..." She trailed off.

"And what, Kim?" There was only curiosity, and maybe a touch of concern in the question.

Kim swallowed. "Well, I fought with Ron a couple days ago. Again." She hesitated. "I turned eighteen a few weeks ago, you know? And I think he wanted to celebrate me being an adult in a kind of, 'adult' way, I guess."

"And you didn't want to? That could be kind of annoying for him, I guess."

"Yeah, I said no. And then I had to say it again the next week, and after a couple more times, we just kind of stopped the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing. It's been kinda stressful. So, anyway, I was pissed off at you for ruining my day even more."

"That explains why you chased me. But not why you were stupid."

"I guess, I mean, I don't think I was that scared of you. We've only fought a couple of times recently, but it doesn't feel like it used to. It's like you're fighting to win, but not really to hurt me. You know?"

Shego was glad that their position didn't let the girl look into her eyes. "Yeah, I know. You're right. Beating you is fun. I couldn't do it any more if I killed you, or crippled you. Now shut your eyes again. And shut up." Kim relaxed against the villain as heat once more radiated into her face.

The two spent the next twenty minutes in silence. Kim slowly warmed, though her shirt stayed damp. Between the hoverpod heater and the warmth of the woman behind her, the teen became almost comfortable. Not quite completely, however. She was far too aware of the breasts pressing into her back, and the warmth of the breath on her neck and ear. Eventually, however, Shego stirred and nudged her.

"Up, Cupcake. I need to look things over, and we need to decide what to do."

Shego slid out from under the redhead and settled into the pilot's seat. "It's three twenty, Princess. If I stop the cloaking and push the power to propulsion, I can get us to a little stash I have. We can get a car and make it to Times Square for midnight. You can join up with the police or whoever then, and I can disappear with the crowd. That's if we have a truce, of course."

"Truce? I mean, sure, why not? What's your plan?"

"Okay then." The green thief made some adjustments and the craft sped up. "We'll go change into something less attention-getting for me, and less wet for you. We'll grab a car and drive to New York. We'll get there by ten, and sneak into the Square." She turned to the hero. "We have a truce, so I'm assuming you won't tell anybody about this place."

"Why not just take the hoverpod?"

"Oh, Princess. When you're an internationally most-wanted felon, you do not casually fly a strange object into the middle of a city. Also, you broke the power system, remember? We can't get that far. But stick with me. I'll get you to New York, and you can call for a ride if you don't want to stay with me. But don't tell anybody I'm around, all right? Deal?"

"Deal."

Fifteen minutes later, the pair were at a long, low building with a bunch of roller doors. "It's a rental garage, Pumpkin. There are about twenty-four separate bays, each with its own door. People store old cars and the like here. I have one that I use sometimes." No one else was around, not surprising given the temperature and the day, but Shego had turned the cloaking on nonetheless. She raised the garage door and went in, and in a couple of minutes a black Volvo sedan rolled out. The green woman climbed back into the pod and eased it into the garage.

The two women climbed out and closed the garage door. Shego opened a cabinet on the back wall. "This place is for running from the law, so I have some clothes here. Nothing that will fit you, but I'll buy you an outfit in a town about half hour away."

"Well, let's see what you have, first."

As it happened, there were clothes that Kim could wear. A sweater that would have fit well on Shego hung loose, and a coat was a size too large, but that didn't matter. It was only the lack of pants that bothered her. That, and the fact that she was currently wearing none.

The garage was warm, despite being unheated. The hoverpod was radiating heat, and that was enough. Shego grabbed a sweater and slacks, tossed them onto the hood of the pod, and began to strip out of her form-fitting green and black. Kim blushed and turned away.

"Hey, you can look if you like. I got an eyeful a while ago, so why shouldn't you?" The green beauty stood naked, and in the harsh light of the garage her skin looked almost alabaster.

Kim protested. "I don't want to look at you! I'm not, I mean, it's not like that."

"Oh, come on, Kimmie? You've never looked at any of the other girls?" Shego arched her back a little, displaying herself to good effect.

"All right! If you want, I'll look at you. Happy?" Kim wasn't sure what was going on, but she wasn't going to back down, whatever it was.

"I don't care either way, Kimmie. But if you want, I don't mind. I know I'm hot." The woman dressed quickly, not putting on any obvious show, but not trying to be at all modest, either. She stepped into black panties, put on a black sports bra, and added black stretch jeans and a deep green sweater. She topped it all off with a brighter green knit cap.

Shego neither stared nor looked away as Kim stripped out of her still damp shirt, and slipped off both panties and bra. She accepted an off-white sweater and a pair of blue jeans from the older woman. Socks and a pair of boots went on her feet. The two got into the car and Shego drove off.

"A Volvo, Shego? I thought you'd have a Ferrari or something," Kim teased as they got to the highway.

"Everybody thinks that, Pumpkin. A Volvo attracts no attention. And it's a good car, and surprisingly fast." She checked the clock on the dash. "We'll probably be in New York City by nine, and that will give us plenty of time to get to the square. We'll have to walk the last couple of miles."

"Why?"

"Traffic and security. I don't want to be trapped in a car near twenty thousand cops, all looking for terrorists."

"Good point, I guess."

They drove in silence for a while. After half an hour, Shego pulled into the parking lot of a shopping mall. Handing Kim a wad of cash, she said, "Let's get you some clothes that fit." Thirty minutes later, they were back in the car.

As she wheeled the Volvo onto the highway, Shego asked, "Why didn't you change in the store, Kim?"

Kim grinned at her. "I couldn't wear them before buying them, and changing in the ladies' room is a pain. And you seemed to like getting an eyeful, as you put it." She reclined the passenger seat and wriggled out of her borrowed pants. Shego alternated her eyes between the road and the display as the teen hero arched off the seat to work the panties over her thighs. Kim was thankful for the sedan's tinted windows as she contorted herself to get her new slacks on.

When she was done, she looked Shego in the eye. "Enjoy the show?"

The older woman looked forward. "Yes. Now shut up for a while, okay?" Her voice was quiet, but Kim thought she sounded troubled.

After ten minutes or so, Shego spoke. "You remember I said I was on the swim team?"

"Yeah."

"Middle school, you know? Twelve, thirteen years old. Some of the girls are practically all grown up. Some of us are still flat and hipless." She glanced at Kim. "I was more that than the other." Kim said nothing, just looking at her.

"At first, I thought it was just curiosity, you know? So that's what they'll look like. Will I get thick curls like that, or like Brenna's light fluff? But pretty soon, I realized I was looking because I liked it. I liked what I saw. I got teased, but I said it was just because I didn't have anything yet. I learned to hide my interest. Then the comet hit, and that wasn't my biggest worry anymore."

She turned to Kim. "So, yeah, I enjoyed the show. You're a really good-looking girl. Does that make it creepy? You regret showing off now?"

It was Kim's turn to look away. "No. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Can we shut up again for a while?"

"Sure, Kimmie."

It was Kim who broke the silence, almost a half an hour later. "I'm getting hungry."

"We'll get something soon. Truck stop or something. Quick, cheap." They were making good time, but didn't know what to expect when they got to New York.

"Yeah. Good." She hesitated, then continued. "I told you I was fighting with Ron."

Shego didn't look at her. "Yeah."

"The thing is, I realized that I didn't want to, you know, go all the way. Not, 'not with him', or 'not now'. I just really didn't want to. I was only considering it because I really do love him. I hated to disappoint him. And you know, we've been a team for a long time. As long as I can remember, really, it's been me and him. It hurt him so much when I was dating anybody else." She sighed. "But, as much as it bothered _him_ when _I_ did, I was never jealous when he was dating Zita. I was really happy for him."

"Zita?"

"Really sweet girl in school. People think she's hispanic, but she's really from Goa, in India."

"Been there. Goa, I mean. Not the dating thing."

"Oh. So, yeah. Anyway, I don't really want to be Ron's girlfriend. I don't want to be anyone's girlfriend, maybe. And I guess when he realized it was never going to happen, that it wasn't that I'm not ready, but that I may never be ready, he doesn't know how to deal with that. He's not all, if you loved me you would, being a real jerk and all. But, things are tense."

"Ah. You've screwed with everyone's expectations."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Food up ahead." The conversation died as they approached the exit. They found a sandwich place and got food to go. The silence as they ate, and for the miles afterwards, was comfortable.

"You really think I'm good-looking?" The question was sudden.

"Yeah. I don't lie much. I'm a lot of bad things, but not a liar."

"You're really pretty, too. And, uh, sexy."

"As sexy as the other cheerleaders?" Shego smiled.

"More." Kim blushed.

"So you do look at them that way, huh?"

"I don't know. Can we not talk about it right now?"

"Sure, Kimmie. And thanks for the compliment. Gotta admit, if you weren't such a damn hero, well..."

"Truce right now, though. You don't go being a villain, and I won't be a hero."

"Truce."

 _~o~o~o~_

The last couple of miles were easy. They parked the car and bundled up. Without anything actually being said, they had realized they were going to stay together. Shego's hair was in a long braid down her back, under her coat. Both wore scarves and knitted caps against the sub-freezing cold, and looked like just two more revelers. Getting into Times Square itself was a little trickier. The gates had been closed in the late afternoon, when the official capacity was reached. Two hundred dollars to a guy carrying in re-supply to a food truck got them permission to help, and they walked in. A policewoman ran her hands up their sides, patted their backs, and checked their boots. Then they were in, mixing with the crowd, enjoying being an anonymous part of a huge celebration. They mocked a couple of the performers, shared greetings with other partiers, and turned down several offers of free liquor and other intoxicants. They quickly realized that people assumed they were a couple. Time passed, quickly and comfortably, and soon midnight loomed.

The two women watched as the ball began its slow descent.

"You know, Pumpkin, there's a tradition at midnight."

Kim wasn't paying attention. "Hmmm? What's that." She kept her eyes on the glittering sphere as it came to rest, and as hundreds of thousands of voices rose in cries of "Happy New Year!", she heard from next to her, "This." Shego's hand on her chin gently turned her head, and she focused to see the woman's face closing in. Her eyes widened as she felt lips gently press on her own.

It was a gentle kiss, simple, maybe two heartbeats long. Shego pulled back, smiling, and it was a gentle smile. Kim blushed and looked quickly around, wondering if she had been seen. All around her, couples were entwined, most of them locked in osculatory marathons, some including rather demonstrative groping. Most were men and women, but a few were same-sex. Nearby, a pair of men held each other tightly, and a few female couples could been seen embracing. One of a group of men nearby saw her and flashed a grin and a thumbs-up gesture before turning back to his friends. Kim turned back to Shego, who gazed at her with a questioning look.

Shego's arm had slipped around her waist, Kim realized, and now she felt a mild pressure to bring her towards the smiling villainess. She let herself be brought in, her arms going around the other's back, but ducked her head to rest it on the taller woman's shoulder. She felt Shego stiffen, then relax. After a few seconds, she pulled her head back and looked up into bright green eyes. She considered a few seconds, what she wanted and how to phrase it, and then whispered in a pale green ear, "I'm in charge."

"Sure, Princess."

She pressed her lips to Shego's, and let her tongue slip between them. Shego let it in, and even now the kisses were gentle and exploratory. They pressed their bodies together and the kisses grew more insistent. Shego caught the hero's tongue between her lips and sucked on it. Kim nipped her lower lip. Then, too soon, she stepped back.

"I have to go let Ron and the police know where I am." She ducked her head. "I'm, I, uhmm..."

"Hey, it's okay. Go." The thief hesitated, then added, "Two weeks. It's MLK Day. Long weekend."

"Yeah?"

"I spend it at a place in the Virgin Islands. Just a little house and a little beach. Warm, quiet, nobody else. I don't have to look over my shoulder, and no henches or goons to ruin my day. Ahh... There's a spare room."

Kim blushed faintly. "Can I think about it? Tell you in a few days?"

Shego's expression closed down. "Sure, Kim."

The teenager caught the other's hand between her own. "Really, Shego. Please. There's a million reasons I shouldn't, and only one that I should." She smiled, a hesitant smile with a hint of mischief. "I need time to talk myself into it."

"How will you let me know?"

"A post on my website. You'll know it when you see it."

She nodded. "Okay, Kim."

Kim smiled again. "See you," and waving, she wove between bodies and disappeared. Shego watched her go, wondering where this might lead, knowing what she hoped for. Shaking her head at her own silliness, she melted into the crowd and was gone.


End file.
